Tame Impala Tour Overview
Tame Impala is the psychedelic music project of Australian multi-instrumentalist Kevin Parker. In the recording studio, Parker writes, records, performs, and produces all of the project's music. As a touring act, Tame Impala consists of Parker (vocals, guitar, synthesizer), Dominic Simper (guitar, synthesiser), Jay Watson (synthesiser, vocals, guitar), Cam Avery (bass guitar, vocals, synthesizer), and Julien Barbagallo (drums, vocals). The group has a close affiliation with fellow Australian psychedelic rock band Pond, sharing members and collaborators, including Nick Allbrook, formerly a live member of Tame Impala. Originally signed to Modular Recordings, Tame Impala is now signed to Interscope Records in the United States and Fiction Records in the UK.
Parker originally conceived the project in Perth in 2007. After a series of singles and EPs, Tame Impala's debut studio album, Innerspeaker, was released in 2010; it was certified gold in Australia and well received by critics. Parker's 2012 follow-up, Lonerism, was also acclaimed, reaching platinum status in Australia and receiving a Grammy Award nomination for Best Alternative Music Album. Tame Impala's third album, Currents, was released in July 2015, and like its predecessor, it won ARIA Awards for Best Rock Album and Album of the Year. Parker won the APRA Award for Song of the Year 2016 for Currents' first track, "Let It Happen". The fourth studio album, The Slow Rush, was released on 14 February 2020. At the 2020 ARIA Music Awards, Tame Impala won five trophies.
About Tame Impala
The origins of the act can be found in the Perth music scene. Parker played in a number of bands, one being the Dee Dee Dums, a rock duo that consisted of Parker (guitar) and Luke Epstein (drums). Tame Impala emerged in 2007 as a Kevin Parker home-recording project in this period and he posted a number of tracks on Myspace. This brought interest from a number of labels and eventually, he signed a worldwide deal with the independent Modular Recordings in July 2008.[unreliable source?] To transfer these recordings to a live-stage, Parker enlisted the help of Dominic Simper (bass) and Jay Watson (drums) and began playing at some local gigs.
The signing was soon followed by the release of their self-titled EP in September 2008. It reached the number 1 position on the Australian Independent Record Labels (AIR) Chart and number 10 on the ARIA Physical Singles Chart, with three songs—"Desire Be, Desire Go", "Half Full Glass of Wine", and "Skeleton Tiger"—receiving national radio airplay on the Triple J radio station.
Tours in 2008 included supports for You Am I, The Black Keys, Yeasayer and MGMT, as well as performances at Southbound Festival, Meredith Music Festival and Falls Festival, and national headline tours in support of their EP. Tours in 2009 included a sold-out six-date "Skeleton Tiger" national headline tour and a five-date UK tour (including Nevereverland UK), as well as performances at V Festival.
Tame Impala appeared on Triple J's Hottest 100 list in 2008—their first appearance on the list—with "Half Full Glass of Wine" at number 75. The song is also on the Hottest 100 compilation album.
Tame Impala Facts
- Tame Impala‘s music is heavily influenced by late 1960’s and early 1970’s psychedelic rock. Some favoured and often-used effects by Parker include phasing, delay, reverb and fuzz.
- The band gained a huge success with their debut album ’Innerspeaker’ in 2010, but the main success by fans and industry only came in 2012 with their second album ’Lonerism’ (which lead the album charts in Australia).
- Tame Impala have played shows at various festivals around the world including Southbound Festival, Meredith Music Festival, Falls Festival, V Festival, Big Day Out, Splendour in the Grass, Reading Festival, Coachella and Sasquatch Festival.
- Counting ‘Lonerism’ and ‘Innerspeak’ the band have released a total of 4 studio albums, 2 Live Albums and 4 EPs.
